Thrash metal veterans Anthrax are preparing to release their long-awaited twelfth full-length studio album, Cursum Perficio, on September 18. The record, dropping via Megaforce in the United States and Nuclear Blast in Europe, ends a ten-year studio silence for the band since 2016’s critically acclaimed For All Kings.
The Latin title, which translates to “My journey has come to an end” or “I complete my journey,” has already sparked intense fan speculation regarding the band’s future. Speaking with Allison Hagendorf, founding guitarist Scott Ian clarified whether the title implies a definitive farewell.
“Sometimes I’m reticent to define things, how I feel about it, because I want the people who listen to the record, the people who come to the shows, I always want them to take ownership in everything we do and make it their own,” Ian explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “So defining lyrics and all that… But for me, ’cause people have been asking us, ‘Well, is this your, your way of saying goodbye? Is this your farewell? Is this your last album?’ And I’m, like, ‘No. We’re not saying that.’ I’m also not not saying that. But I tend to think if we’re gonna say goodbye, we’re gonna make more of a big deal about it than just kind of sneaking it in in an album cover and album title and then disappearing.”
For Scott Ian, the title heavily reflects the exhausting, six-year hurdle required to bring the music to fruition. Initial writing sessions began in late 2019 following the conclusion of their previous tour cycle, only for the global pandemic to halt all operations for nearly two years.
“So, yeah, it pushed the big pause button for, like, two years for us, where many times on Zoom calls with my bandmates, [we were] asking the question, ‘Are we ever gonna play a show again?’ ‘Are we ever gonna make a record?’ ‘Do we get to be a band again?’ ‘Do we need to go look for jobs?’ ‘Am I ever gonna hang out with you again?'” Ian recalled. “It’s weird to think that now, but in the summer of 2020, nobody knew, certainly in my world, in the music world, nobody had any idea if venues were gonna open again. Nobody knew. Nobody knew what the f**k was gonna happen. So, in our own little corner of the universe, that was a weird and really scary time, and to think that maybe we don’t get to be a band again. Maybe this is it. And, then, of course, eventually doors started opening, and we got to be a band again.”
The guitarist noted that when he, bassist Frank Bello, and drummer Charlie Benante finally reunited in a Southern California studio in 2021, the resulting relief directly translated into the sonic energy of the new record.
“So it was just quite the epic journey. Then from then really diving in and writing this record and working on it. And the energy in the room the first time we all got back together at some point in ’21, I think it was, and me, Frankie [Bello] and Charlie [Benante], we were out here in this studio in [Southern California], and just the three of us were so happy to be in that room making music. And you could really feel — at least I do, ’cause I was there — but I feel the energy on this record, the gratefulness of us getting to do it again and how exciting that was,” Ian said.
The album was fully tracked, mixed, and finalized by the autumn of 2025. While the group initially intended to launch the record earlier this year, Anthrax chose to delay the rollout to restructure their core business management to better protect their upcoming cycle.
“And then we decided we needed to clean house on the business side of things. We just were looking at the next two, three years and looking at the album we made, and we just really felt we were being underserved, and we needed to move forward. And it just meant pushing things back a little bit,” Ian revealed. “It’s really exciting to have this new team behind us and this excitement behind us, and the excitement around the record because it’s only a handful of people, really, that have lived with the record at this point, that have heard more than one or two songs. And the feedback we’re getting is great, which makes me happy, ’cause I feel like people hear it the same way I hear it. And especially when people start being very specific about things on the record, I’m, like, ‘Oh, you really listened to it.’ I love that. But, yeah, it just all started to feel like the right time, especially once we got our new manager in place, and he had a lot of really great things to say that we had never heard before. And you could kick yourself and say, ‘Why didn’t we do this 10 years ago?’ But it doesn’t matter. Now is the time. We made the record that needs this. And so it’s really all kind of come together at the right time for us.”
The first preview of this new material comes via the lead single and music video, “It’s For The Kids“. Lyrically, Ian used the high-tempo track to channel severe frustration regarding global safety and the protection of younger generations, citing his experiences as a father as the main catalyst for his anger.
“I was definitely… That’s how I deal with anger. As I’ve learned over the years, anger is fear-based, and certainly having a son has changed my… If it doesn’t change your outlook, there’s something wrong with you, if it doesn’t change the way you feel about things. And, yeah, in some ways, there’s more fear in my life because you have a child, and this world we live in has proven to be not a safe place for children anywhere — not just here in the United States. And I have a lot of fear about that, which then, of course, turns into anger about that because nobody does anything. Nobody does anything,” he explained.
He continued by directly criticizing federal and global leadership for failing to shield children from systemic harm.
“Speaking specifically from my point of view as a tax-paying citizen of the United States, I can safely say that the administration in power does nothing to protect the children of this country and does harm to children of other countries all over the world. And if you disagree with that, you’re wrong. It’s not opinion, it’s fact. And the lyrics to this song are my feelings. And it’s me spewing anger so it doesn’t eat me up. It’s always been a tool I’ve used since I was a kid, since I first wrote lyrics on an Anthrax record in 1985, it’s been a way for me to vent. And it’s very cathartic and it’s very therapeutic for me. And people say, ‘What do you have to be angry about?’ I’m, like, look out the window, dude. Yeah, I’m in a band. I f**king love what I do. I get to play guitar. It puts a smile on my face the same way it did when I was nine years old. But I’m a human being with normal human emotions and thoughts and maybe too smart for my own good,” Ian concluded.
Cursum Perficio tracklist:
- “Persistence Of Memory”
- “The Long Goodbye”
- “It’s For The Kids”
- “Everybody’s Got A Plan”
- “The Edge Of Perfection”
- “Infectious”
- “NYC93”
- “Cursum Perficio”
- “T.O.M.B”
- “Watch It Go”
- “My Victory”
The physical release of the album will feature an array of collector formats, including standard and Target-exclusive CD packages, alongside standard black, Amazon-exclusive purple zoetrope, and Talk Shop Live-exclusive signed red ripple double vinyl variants equipped with interactive pop-up gatefold packaging.
